


Winter Side Story Day 17.1 - Boys Will Be Boys

by unjaundiced



Series: Winter Spirits [21]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Festival, Gen, Holiday, Pre-Relationship, Teenagers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-17
Updated: 2015-12-17
Packaged: 2018-05-07 04:54:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,655
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5444054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unjaundiced/pseuds/unjaundiced
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Boys and girls sometimes view shopping and festivals differently. And then there's Iruka.<br/>Set the year after <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/works/5412971">Santa's Babies</a>. They're 16 and 17.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Winter Side Story Day 17.1 - Boys Will Be Boys

"Uwaaaaaaaah! Winter festivals are the _best!”_ Anko crowed, slapping Ibiki on the back. He choked on his mochi and glared at her. How she kept finding him, he would never know. It was like she had a tracking device on him or something.  
  
"Anko-chan, why are you here,” he grumbled, moving his paper tray out of the way when she tried to snatch a stick of dango from it. She pouted, stamping her geta-clad feet.  
  
"Stingy, Aniki! I'm poor! You have to treat me!” She clasped her hands and did a rather poor imitation of a pious and worthy person. She tugged at his sleeve. “Aniki!”  
  
"Ugh, no. Bad. Bad Anko.” Ibiki dodged, bumping into someone. He turned to apologize and paused, a speculative gleam appearing in his eyes. Kakashi, looking up from one of the brightly covered books he now liked to carry, seemed to go on edge. Clinging to his pant leg was a toddler and attached to the toddler was a little boy.  
  
"Mah, say hello to Ibiki-jiji,” Kakashi ordered mildly, pointing at Ibiki's nose with his book. The toddler seemed to grow shy and ducked behind Kakashi's leg.  
  
"Don't call me gramps, you twerp,” Ibiki grumbled, moving aside as Anko eagerly crouched down to inspect the small boy, almost falling over when her kimono proved to be too tight for the motion. “Uchiha kids? Going over to the dark side, are we?”  
  
"Mah, I don't discriminate.” Kakashi closed his eyes—eye rather; he still kept his hair long enough to cover his damaged one—and smiled. Tiny hands tightened around his knee as Sasuke shrank away from Anko. He patted the boy on the head.  
  
"Could you control your pet? It's scaring the shrimp sticks.” Kakashi commented, smile becoming more smarmy when Anko glared. Itachi looked up at Kakashi with a bland expression that somehow conveyed his immense disapproval at being called a shrimp stick.  
  
"Why you—” Anko was interrupted by a shout as Iruka fought against the crowd, a blonde boy perched on his shoulders.  
  
"Ugh, sorry! There was this really huge drum and Naruto wanted to see it. And there's a Snow Princess play starting soon that the stall back there was advertising that looks like it might be fun to see and I know the kids wanted to go to the fishing booth and the Akimichi family is running a takoyaki booth and—” Kakashi blinked at Iruka's babbling. The other boy always wanted to do everything at once. He didn't know how to prioritize at all.  
  
" _Ooooh_ my god, yes! Did you say takoyaki booth!” Anko shrieked, jumping up and down. Iruka hopped back and forth with excitement, Naruto clutching his hair and beaming.  
  
"Yes! And hot taiyaki too!” Iruka crowed, laughing as she groaned in jealous hunger. The two seemed to dance in place, before Anko shouted “Let's go!” before grabbing a startled Itachi by the collar of his shirt and dragging him in the direction of the booths. Itachi—not knowing what to do—grabbed hold of Sasuke who wasn't strong enough to continue holding onto Kakashi and ended up being dragged along as well. Iruka happily followed her, leaving Ibiki and Kakashi still holding his orange book.  
  
"Is it just me or is Iruka-kun starting to become a girl?” Ibiki mused aloud, chewing on a mochi. He turned to let a group of kimono-clad female underclassmen pass, nodding automatically at the old woman manning the booth next to him. “I can see the kimono already.”  
  
"Mah, don't let him hear you say that,” Kakashi mumbled, turning a page in his book and sauntering after the retreating group, walking heedlessly through a group of kids dressed in cosplay. “Even if you think he's a girl, he still hits like a boy.”  
  
"Is that why you have a black eye, then?” Ibiki snorted, catching up to Kakashi. A child with a dog, likely one of the Inuzuka children, barreled into his legs, bouncing off and tearing away without noticing what he ran into. Typical.  
  
"I _don't_ have a black eye,” Kakashi argued, sounding slightly peeved. “I was putting on my guy-liner and it smudged. I ran out of makeup remover so it's going to be like that for a few days. Stop trying to hurt my feelings.”  
  
Ibiki snorted, dodging some lady with a stroller. “That was _really_ gay. It's fine if you can't take a hit. I won't tell anyone.”  
  
"I'll show _you_ who can't take a hit,” Kakashi grumbled petulantly, burying his nose further in his book. There was no way he could still be reading it at that distance and Ibiki figured that the other boy was probably blushing from embarrassment. Kakashi really hated looking uncool.  
  
"Weak.” Asuma melted out of the crowd and joined them. “You're weak. And where are we going?”  
  
"Thought you were with Kurenai-chan,” Kakashi muttered, ignoring the jibe. A group of children ran past carrying a long paper dragon and heading towards the stage area. He craned his neck curiously, smirking as a distracted Genma bumped into a lanky senior and almost stepped on the dragon's tail. The blonde boy flushed and muttered an apology to the glowering upperclassman. It was almost a shame he didn't realize Raidou was all bark and no bite. Almost.  
  
"Tch. She ran off with Ko-kun and Zumo-kun to get takoyaki and play some girly fish game,” Asuma grumbled, crossing his arms behind his neck and blowing a cloud of smoke, commenting that he should pick up smoking so he could do it all the time. Kakashi peered over his book.

"Takoyaki? Fish game?” He hummed thoughtfully. “You're coming with us then. Anko-chan and Iruka are over there right now probably destroying everything as we speak.”  
  
"Man...” Asuma sighed. Kakashi and Ibiki looked at him curiously, Ibiki chewing on one of his dango. A group of primary school children in winter uniforms pushed between them, making Asuma frown. “I know it's not true but I feel like we're some of those pathetic chumps who follow their girlfriends around and carry their junk.”  
  
Ibiki choked on his dango, coughing violently. Kakashi raised a brow and whacked him hard on the back. Kakashi looked skeptical at first, then amused. “Oh my. You're not dating Kurenai-chan?” he teased. Asuma looked appalled.  
  
"Hell no!” He flushed when Kakashi's other eyebrow came up. Ibiki, still coughing, clutched Asuma's arm and squeezed. The boy looked at him in surprise as Ibiki pulled him close, eyes watering from the force of his coughing.  
  
They didn't notice Anko and Iruka slowly making their way through the crowd with Kurenai helping to herd the snack-munching children. Anko was gleefully attacking a steaming mound of takoyaki while Iruka warned that she would choke herself, Naruto perched on his hip and taking little bites out of a taiyaki tail.  
  
"Never.” Ibiki threatened. “ _Never_ say anything that horrible about me _ever_ again. I will die.”  
  
"Die? Ish shomeone threa—” Anko choked on her takoyaki and started coughing. Iruka worriedly pat her back while Kakashi and Asuma looked on with bemusement. Ibiki went pale.  
  
"Mah, this is like the Matrix,” Kakashi commented, frowning as another child bumped into him. “I must have taken the Blue Pill because I'm having déjà vu. Someone should warn me next time so I can bring my 3D glasses.”  
  
"You're an idiot and there is no cure for Idiot Vision, only death—” Asuma shot back, rearing back as Kurenai tried to make him carry her purse. He shook his head in dismay. “Woman! Stop making me carry your things! Do I look like a butler to you!”  
  
She frowned and mutely held out the bag with an impatient look on her face. Sasuke's hopping caught Asuma's attention and he slumped as he recognized the age-old pee-pee Dance. He held out his hand, groaning as the heavy bag was deposited on top.  
  
"Don't drop it,” she sang, scooping up the toddler and disappearing into the crowd.  
  
"Ahahaha _whipped_ ,” Kakashi snickered, jumping with a yelp when Iruka slapped his arm and held out a steaming taiyaki.  
  
"Punched.” Ibiki snorted, making a face when Anko tried to take his last dango.  
  
  
_Later at the mall..._  
  
The trio of boys sat with the children amid a pile of brightly colored bags, glumly inspecting the fondue set Iruka and the girls were debating buying for the paediatrics ward nurses. The nurses wanted to make homemade marshmallows and have homemade hot chocolate to top off the now-annual cookie baking spree and the chocolate fondue set would be _perfect ._ The only question was, should they get one in green, yellow, or red and how many sets should they buy? One of each color? Should each child get his or her own special cookie cutter design? And why were the boys so utterly _useless_ at making decisions!  
  
Ibiki buried his face in his hands with a groan as Anko prodded him with a fondue fork when he couldn't give her an answer. She got another one and started poking Kakashi as well. He just buried his face further in his book and did his best to ignore the needling. Asuma stared at an angel made of lights just over Kurenai's shoulder and willed himself blind so he wouldn't be asked to make more decisions.  
  
"Let's just look for something else,” Iruka finally offered, taking pity on his male comrades. “It's obvious that they're completely fried and aren't going to be able to be useful at all.”

"Dammit! Just get one of each in the large size and extra sets of the forks that come with that free snowflake cookie cutter! Kids will fight if they get stuck with different ones!” Kakashi finally snapped, surfacing from his book, irritated at the implication that he was useless and tired of Anko's prodding. Iruka folded his arms over his chest smugly. Asuma and Ibiki's eyes met over Kakashi and they whispered simultaneously.  
  
_"Whipped.”_

**Author's Note:**

> This work was originally posted on Livejournal in 2011 as part of the annual 12 or 25 Days of Christmas challenge. The story takes place by years and utilises Japanese honourifics as a necessity. I tried to use canonical names wherever possible and created original character names as needed.
> 
> Due to the conditions at the time, the writing is a bit clunky but will largely remain unedited.


End file.
